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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The leader of the provincial Green Party says now is the time to open discussion on the future of renewable energy in our province.
Jack MacDougall says his party's energy platform has been on the table for some time -- and -- he's hoping the others will follow.
Meantime -- MacDougall tells CHSJ News he's not about to count Premier Graham out just yet despite the political damage he's suffered as a result of the failed deal.
But -- MacDougall says support for the Green Party is growing across the province.

An example of cutting your losses-is how UNB Saint John political scientist describes the Graham government scrapping of their energy deal with Hydro Quebec.Don Desserud tells CHSJ news the Premier and his government are not out of the woods yet.Desserud says this will give them a chance to recover but time is not long enough to roll out another policy that would make people forget the failures of the past.He adds he would not be suprised if the Premier stepped down but he does not think that push will come from his caucus saying the Liberal party will support him.

A missing Moncton woman has been found alive -- 54-year old Donna O'Rielly was found over the noon hour in Moncton.
She was reported missing February 26th after she failed to arrive home from her job at downtown shopping mall.
Police are piecing together the details surrounding her disappearance and are expected to release more details later this afternoon.

The Coalition to Stop the Sale of NB Power calls today tremendous with news the deal is scrapped but concede their work is not finished.

Greg Cook tells CHSJ News the Graham Government never properly answered the questions the people had on the deal.Cook adds the answers did not make sense and even the public relations firm the government hired could not spin it.Cook says he's telling their Facebook group members to keep watch because there are some very unhappy corporate interests and more questions to be answered.

The provincial Energy and Utilities Board is going to hold a public hearing as part of its review of maximum profit margins - delivery costs - and - full service charges.
The Board says the hearing will be open to both petroleum dealers and members of the general public for comment.
The hearing will be held in the fall -- but -- the Board hasn't given a specific date.

The warning issued early this month about baby slings is now upgraded to an outright recall.More than one-million baby slings made by Infantino are being called back after claims linking them to three infant deaths.The recall covers 15-thousand Infantino ``SlingRider'' and ``Wendy Bellissimo'' slings sold in Canada.The U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning that babies can suffocate in the soft fabric slings.Parents are being told to stop using the slings for babies under four months immediately.

The Opposition Conservatives have failed in a bid to have the Graham government apologize to New Brunswickers for its handling of the controversial N-B Power sale.
Energy Minister Jack Keir says there won't be any apology for trying to do what was right for New Brunswickers.
Keir says the only plan the Tories have for fixing the utility is to "manage it better" -- something he says they failed to do during their seven years in office.

A political bombshell in the Legislature from Premier Shawn Graham.The premier says it's with much regret they are no longer proceeding with discussion to finalize the energy agreement with Hydro Quebec.The Premier still maintains the original deal announced last October and the revised agreement in January were in the best interests of the province.He says over the past several weeks Hydro Quebec asked for changes that Graham says would take value and added risk to the agreement for New Brunswickers.Graham does concede he could have done a better job of involving people in the process.

City Police are investigating an armed robbery early this morning. Sergeant Pat Bonner tells CHSJ News that police were called to Woodville road on the west side where an 18 year old was robbed with a weapon.The victim wasn't hurt and the major crime unit is looking for a suspect.

Breaking news from the Legislature in Fredericton - Premier Shawn Graham has announced the proposed deal to sell N-B Power to Hydro Quebec is off.
Graham says Hydro Quebec was demanding too much as negotiations continued.
We will have more details and reaction throughout the day.

A new twist in the ongoing saga of repairs to the Harbour Bridge. Saint John East MLA Roly MacIntyre and Saint John Lancaster MLA Abel LeBlanc introduced a motion at the legislature for the federal government to allow the harbour bridge authority to borrow the money needed to carry out $35 million in urgent repairs.The budget for the Bridge Authority must be approved by the federal government, the provincial government and City of Saint John before the Authority can borrow money to undertake the repairs. While the province and city have given the ok, the federal government has not yet given approval.LeBlanc is trying to put David Alward and Trevor Holder on the spot by asking them whether they stand with the people of Saint John or with Rodney Weston and the Federal Conservatives.